Purpose

The current research presents a case study on how COVID-19 has influenced event attendees' attitudes toward safety procedures, venue capacity, purchasing tickets in advance, type of events (e.g. theatre, music and art) and the mode of the event (i.e. live vs online).

Design/methodology/approach

In two timeframes (i.e. during and after COVID-19 lockdowns), data were collected via a self-completed online survey from a regional Western Australia (WA) town, Geraldton. In total, 94 event attendees were recruited in Wave 1 (during lockdowns), and 126 respondents were recruited in Wave 2 (after lockdowns). The naturalistic data collection examines how COVID-19 has influenced attendees' attitudes.

Findings

The findings suggest that attendees have adapted to the new normal of COVID-19. If safety procedures are followed, most respondents are comfortable attending an entertainment event during and after the lockdown (Wave 1 and Wave 2). Furthermore, respondents exhibited comfort following COVID-19 safety precautions at events even after COVID-19 lockdowns, except for mandatory mask-wearing. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted event attendees to prefer lower seating capacity at events, while the gradual easing of restrictions reduces their discomfort toward higher seat capacity.

Originality/value

Although some research has examined the financial and economic impact of COVID-19 on the event industry, there is limited research on consumers' or attendees' perceptions and attitudes toward events, particularly entertainment events and festivals, as the world emerges from the pandemic. Thus, the current case study is the first to examine event attendees' attitudes toward entertainment event management and operation during and after COVID-19 lockdowns. The finding provides significant theoretical and managerial implications surrounding the reaction of event attendees toward entertainment events (i.e. festivals) during health crises such as COVID-19.

中文翻译：

---

COVID-19 对区域活动参加者态度的影响：COVID-19 封锁期间和之后的调查

目的

当前的研究提出了一个案例研究，说明 COVID-19 如何影响活动参加者对安全程序、场地容量、提前购票、活动类型（例如戏剧、音乐和艺术）和活动方式（即现场直播）的态度与在线）。

设计/方法/途径

在两个时间范围内（即在 COVID-19 封锁期间和之后），数据是通过来自西澳大利亚 (WA) 地区城镇杰拉尔顿的自行完成的在线调查收集的。第一波（封锁期间）总共招募了 94 名活动参与者，第二波（封锁后）招募了 126 名受访者。自然主义数据收集检查了 COVID-19 如何影响与会者的态度。

发现

调查结果表明，与会者已经适应了 COVID-19 的新常态。如果遵守安全程序，大多数受访者都愿意在封锁期间和封锁之后（第 1 波和第 2 波）参加娱乐活动。此外，即使在 COVID-19 封锁之后，受访者也对在活动中采取 COVID-19 安全预防措施表示满意，但强制佩戴口罩除外。然而，COVID-19 大流行促使活动参加者更喜欢在活动中减少座位数，而限制的逐步放松减少了他们对增加座位数的不适。

原创性/价值

尽管一些研究调查了 COVID-19 对活动行业的财务和经济影响，但随着世界从大流行中走出来，关于消费者或参加者对活动（尤其是娱乐活动和节日）的看法和态度的研究却很有限。因此，当前的案例研究是第一个检查活动参加者在 COVID-19 封锁期间和之后对娱乐活动管理和运营的态度的研究。该发现对活动参加者在 COVID-19 等健康危机期间对娱乐活动（即节日）的反应提供了重要的理论和管理意义。